


Holy Darkness

by Kittytoastnjam



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, First Time Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, M/M, Magic, Mildly Dubious Consent, Open to Interpretation, Or Is It?, Sex, Sheriff Daichi Sawamura, Witch Sugawara Koushi, Witchcraft, Witches, maybe magic, maybe vampires, maybe witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25461091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittytoastnjam/pseuds/Kittytoastnjam
Summary: "Daichi jolted upright when he took in the dark cast to his room. He didn’t remember redressing, or leaving home, but found himself dazed at the forest’s edge, Suga’s letter clutched in one hand and a flickering lantern in the other. His breath came fast like he’d be running; had he even checked to see if anyone had seen him? A wild laugh burst from some unknown place inside him. And he took a step into the darkness.  His path was unhindered, the trail ahead clear and straight. He must be dreaming still, he thought, as he strode along his predetermined course. Because if he wasn’t dreaming, it meant he was crazy for having no reservations."
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28





	Holy Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy reading smut, but I don’t typically care to write it anymore because I don’t like a lot of the words associated with explicit smut/body parts, so it takes me a hundred years to write even the shortest stuff lol.  
> But once this idea came to me it wouldn’t go away. Like, I was losing sleep because I would wake up thinking about different parts and couldn't sleep until it was at least outlined. For days I have basically been writing like a person possessed, with Lord Huron’s “Meet Me in the Woods,” “Love Like Ghosts-,” basically all of Strange Trails- on repeat in the background. Interestingly, from the get-go it was always DaiSuga. I couldn’t imagine it with anyone else for whatever reason. Suga is a witch, confirmed. If you've never heard the song, I recommend it! Especially since this story is basically the lyrics of the song. 
> 
> Anyway, if you’re here just for smut, I'm sorry. You'll have to get through roughly 9000 words first, and it's not even graphic smut.

It was the third time Daichi’s night patrol had taken him past the dark stretch of forest which touched the limits of their township. He couldn’t say it was any less unsettling the third time than it had been the first. It raised the hairs on his arms and he quickened his pace, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. Lantern light cast shifting shadows across his path and threw them over the trees and grass in a way that had him checking over his shoulder. Someone giggled at the response. 

In a blink his sword was in hand and the lantern high. Though every instinct screamed at him against it, the star-shaped badge pinned to his vest guided his actions. “Who’s there?” Daichi demanded an advancing step towards the tree line. “Show yourself!”

Was it a sigh or the rustle of trees? Daichi wasn’t sure even after a shape melted from the darkness, silent steps carrying the figure of a man into the spray of light. He was beautiful, paused before Daichi where the light and darkness met. At night the world existed in grayscale, but the touch of light held the man in relief to the dark forest: he had ashen hair that fell away from his pointed face; thick brows and dark eyes; a coy smile and a mole just beside his left eye. For having a sheriff pointing a sword at him, his body was fluid and calm, a fact accentuated by the loose white shirt and black pants which fluttered from his figure in the breeze. He offered up hands spread in a gesture of peace, and his lopsided grin grew when Daichi met his gaze, unwavering. “You could say please,” the man answered with a soft, teasing voice. 

“Who are you? Answer me,” Daichi repeated. 

The man raised an eyebrow. “I’m Suga,” he said after a moment. 

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Daichi pressed. 

“The sun doesn’t agree with me,” Suga answered with a helpless shrug that did not match his sly grin.

Without breaking eye contact, Daichi set his lantern on the ground. Then, fumbling at his vest, he unfastened his badge and tossed it at the man's face. Suga caught it with a swift move and his puzzlement as he surveyed it became amused understanding. “Iron,” he acknowledged. “Clever. Well, Sheriff-“ he glanced at the star again- “Sawamura, I am, for better or worse, a plain old human and not a Faerie. A fact you have probably gathered since I still have the skin of my hands.” 

“You can never be too sure,” Daichi stated. “Throw it back and be on your way.” 

Suga laughed, an airy bell in the quiet night. “Why should I give it back? This was a gift freely given.” 

A wave of annoyance surged under Daichi’s skin and he frowned, “What use is it to you? Throw it back.”

But Suga simply tucked the item in his pocket and grinned, “Make me,” before he turned and vanished into the trees. 

For a moment Daichi did nothing except stare at the now vacant space in front of him. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. He swore he heard another answering laugh. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You said you lost your badge during your night patrol?” the town blacksmith repeated. 

Through gritted teeth, Daichi lied. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The trees that night did not imbue the trepidation of all the previous nights. Daichi was pissed. As soon as he was sure the last of the town drunks had wandered home, the sheriff marched to the edge of town and, feeling quite stupid, hissed, “Hey, you! Suga!” 

Except for the buzz of cicadas, the trees were silent. Had he dreamed the whole encounter? Perhaps he _had_ lost the badge on his patrol. It was an easier idea to swallow than that of a mysterious and handsome stranger appearing from the trees. However, a light tap on his shoulder alerted him to a reality stranger than dreams. Off balance he whirled, caught only from stumbling by a deceptively firm grip pulling at his back. 

“I wouldn’t have guessed you would be so clumsy,” Suga teased. 

Daichi scrambled to right himself from the other man’s arms and fixed him with the glare which typically caused people to quake. The effect seemed to be lost on Suga, who wore the same easy smile despite the unspoken threat. It was Daichi who broke contact first, when his brown eyes alighted on a familiar item now pinned upon the breast pocket of Suga’s shirt. Without preamble he lunged. 

“So forward,” Suga drawled as he turned into the attack with a dancer’s grace, and suddenly Daichi was staring into a face shrouded by silver and stars from where he lay in the dirt. “You could just ask.”

The sheriff was in no space to reply, though, as the air had fled his lungs when his back met the ground. It had been years since someone had bested Daichi in a fight, but this man had done so without even stirring the dirt. Had he even felt a hand laid on him? “Who are you?” he wheezed finally. 

Suga knelt with faux concern etched on his delicate features. “Did that fall make you forget my introduction from yesterday?” The back of his palm caressed Daichi’s cheek, soft and cool.

“I don’t believe for a second that you’re human,” Daichi growled, pulling Suga’s hand from his face. “No human can move like that.” As if realizing the sense in his words, the sheriff jerked his blade from his belt. 

Suga was on his feet in the span of a blink, hands in pockets but with a tense set to his shoulders and jaw. Eyeing Daichi with more caution than before, he replied, “Human with benefits, then.” 

There was a moment where Daichi narrowed his eyes and considered the man’s curious statement. Then a smirk worked its way onto his lips. “You’re a witch,” he said. Suga gave him a mocking shrug of his shoulders, but the stiffness had yet to leave his frame. “I could turn you in,” Daichi threatened. 

“Then it’s a good thing you don’t know how to find me,” the silver crowned man shot back. 

Well, that was true. There was little a witch hunter could do if they couldn’t find the accused. Daichi thrust a hand in Suga’s direction and with a smug grin, declared, “I’ll be taking my badge now. Unless you want your picture on posters from here to the capital.”

Just a few paces away, the lazy grin returned to the witch’s lips and he gestured wide. “I suppose that’s a bargain I can’t refuse. Well? Put the sword away and come take it, then. I’ll even keep my hands to my pockets.” 

Oh, that was irritating. There was no chance Daichi would bow to the unspoken challenge, not from the likes of a witch. Jaw set firm, he sheathed the sword and closed the gap between them, but as his fingers eased under the open collar of the man’s shirt to unpin the badge, he hesitated. His eyes drifted from the prize and onto the pale column of Suga’s throat, to the dip where it joined the expanse of his chest. Perhaps it hadn’t been a lie that the sun disagreed with him, for why else would someone have skin so fair? 

“See something you like?” 

Daichi started as the question rumbled beneath his calloused fingertips. A few eternal seconds later he’d freed his badge from the man’s shirt, grateful that the cover of night would conceal the flush on his face. “Not at all,” he retorted, though his voice sounded false and hollow even to his own ears. 

Suga must have heard it too, because his smile widened, giving Daichi the impression of a stalking predator. He was suddenly conscious of the small space between them, the breeze through Suga’s hair. A drop of sweat trickled down his spine; he shivered. He hadn’t noticed before that they were the same height, but it allowed him the knowledge that Suga’s eyelashes were as silver as his hair. _Starlight_ , Daichi thought numbly and unhelpfully. Suga took a step forward, and Daichi a wavering step back. 

“That’s unfortunate,” Suga mused. “I guess the attraction is one-sided.” Before Daichi could even sputter a reply, the witch turned on heel with a wave. "You're very handsome, Sheriff Sawamura. It'd be a shame if I don't see you again.” 

Daichi started wide-eyed at the man’s retreating back until he disappeared. While his face had cooled in the passing moments, he noted that his heartbeat hadn’t slowed its pace one beat. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Daichi, I was wondering,” the other sheriff hedged, “if you could work a few weeks of my night patrol? My wife and son caught whatever seems to be going around.”

Daichi had thought to find relief under the sun, so he surprised himself when a jolt of excitement had him blurting, “Sure.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Daichi paused by the woods and ran a hand through his short brown hair. What was he doing? It was the third of his extra nights on patrol but the mysterious stranger seemed to have made good on his farewell. Not that Daichi should be seeking the likes of a witch. There was no logical reason for it, but something in Daichi’s blood buzzed at the prospect. He wanted to understand what it was that drew him in and left him dazed, that craved for him to touch again the silk of the other man's skin. Maybe magic, but maybe, as Suga teased, it was more. Attraction. The former was something he knew he could handle, but the latter, well... Daichi shook his head violently, then kicked a stick sending it skittering into the underbrush. Straining to listen, Daichi waited for a response but when nothing came other than wildlife and insect calls, he groaned and brought his exasperated eyes to the sky. _Stupid,_ he chastised. 

“Oh, it’s you,” a familiar voice marveled, and Daichi spotted the enigmatic witch step out from the woods. From the crook of his arm dangled a wooden basket but his free hand rose in greeting. 

“What’s that?” Daichi questioned with a pointed look. 

Suga drew up short with an annoyed huff and straightened the apron that covered his gauzy tunic that day. “It’s always business with you, Sheriff Sawamura,” he complained. “If you must know, this is for the other one. I didn’t think it’d be you tonight.”

“The other one?” Daichi echoed. Something about the words soured in his gut. “The other sheriff?”

“Yes, smart guy. The one with the sick family.” The witch proffered his laden arm and added, “It’s to help with the symptoms. With extra for others. He said it’s going around. Probably the flu.”

“Wait,” Daichi ordered and before he knew he’d crossed the distance between them. “He knows who you are? He never mentioned it to me!” The idea burned through him like acid, that there were others who could know him, and these encounters weren’t solely for him. It was ridiculous as he put words to it, but it didn’t make the jealousy any less.

Suga raised an eyebrow. “You seem like a bit of a stickler. He knows a good thing when he has it. I couldn't be sure about you so I asked him not to once you took the job.” He cocked his head, the motion more endearing than the man had a right to be. “Can I be sure about you, Sheriff Sawamura?”

Daichi froze, his limbs no longer wishing to cooperate with his thoughts as he stared down the uncharacteristically serious man. It contradicted what he’d been told when he donned the badge: witches were _evil_ , to be turned into the parish witch-hunter upon sighting. Yet there was one living almost among them, and to whom his partner had turned a blind eye for… “How long?” Daichi asked. 

Suga tapped his chin. “Since I’ve been here? I suppose… two years.” 

The sheriff’s head spun. “Two years? But… why?” The consequences for withholding from a witch-hunter could be severe. To risk that? 

Suga sighed. “It’s a business arrangement, of course. Did you think this town’s unusually good harvests and healthy winter were a coincidence? It’s all me, Sawamura.” The witch’s eyes glinted like stars and the air between them seemed to crackle with energy, just for a moment. _It was a trick of the light,_ Daichi argued, though he could little argue the weakening of his knees at the sight. Because the moment passed as quickly as it came and Suga was still the willowy, smiling man he always was. “Well, what do you make of that?” he asked. 

Daichi thought it worrisome and a relief, and he drew his eyes up Suga’s body, sizing him up, thinking. If things didn’t work out the way his partner thought it would, could Daichi do what was needed to keep their safety? Wordlessly, he slid his hand along Suga’s forearm to take the handle of the basket. _Are you really so strong?_ he challenged when he saw the man’s starlight eyes shutter and his lip come between his teeth for the moment of their contact. Then Daichi plucked the basket from his arms with a short nod. There was something different about Suga’s grin before he returned to the darkness of the forest. Something magnetic and dark. 

Something hungry. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The other sheriff eyed Daichi warily as he placed the woven basket carefully on the jailhouse desk. “For the flu, he said,” Daichi finally stated. The man let out a huge breath and slumped in his chair. He took the peace offering with a nod. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I don’t have witch-hunters burning down my forest yet,” Suga noted. 

It had become his usual greeting over the last week. Typically Daichi offered a grunt or other gruff acknowledgement of the statement in return, if only because he was put off by the witch's abrupt appearances. Today, though, after days of the routine, he snorted, “Yet.” 

Suga blinked, his mouth falling open in surprise before splitting into a laugh. “You _do_ have a sense of humor!” 

Daichi always found himself swept up in that smile, and he offered with a small smirk, “Are you sure I’m joking?”

Narrowing his eyes, the witch hummed as he appraised him. “Well,” he said as he crossed his arms decisively, “I can't say I’m fully certain of you yet, Sheriff, but I think I might be out of immediate danger.” There was an unspoken question in his hestent statement.

It made Daichi’s insides twist but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps it was the complexity of the statement, that Daichi would protect a witch despite his oath. Perhaps, instead, it was the truth in it that Daichi was unwilling to admit. _It’s both,_ he thought as he pursed his lips and met Suga’s careful gaze. “I won’t say anything,” Daichi confessed with a voice soft and true. 

Suga was made for the moonlight. His face softened, barely perceptible in the gentle glow, and he was all the more beautiful for it. Like it was a reward he was conditioned to seek, Daichi was compelled to ensure that the smile didn’t leave Suga’s lips. He faltered under the soft weight of it and glanced aside, back towards town. “I-I should keep walking,” he stammered. 

The witch skipped ahead, arms clasped behind him, and he asked, “Want some company?” There was no world in which Daichi could refuse. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Dai, you sure you don’t mind the extra time on nights?” his partner asked as Daichi shuffled to his house as the sun was rising. “I know it can be hard.” 

Daichi shrugged. “It’s not so bad,” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They’d taken to eating a midnight lunch together, behind the wall of the town entrance where no one would see. Daichi wasn’t an inventive cook, but Suga knew his way around the kitchen. It wasn't how Daichi ever envisioned spending his time on night patrol, but he wasn’t going to complain, especially when he did on occasion get treated to something Suga brought for himself. From the corner of his eye, Daichi watched as Suga finished the remains of his lunch. For all his ethereal grace at every other moment, the witch never looked more human than when he ate, messy and quick. 

“You’ve got sauce on your chin,” Daichi muttered finally. 

Suga smirked which indicated to Daichi that he was about to be teased. “Get it for me?” he asked sweetly. 

“Get it yourself.”

“You’re no fun,” the witch pouted before wiping his face on his apron. 

“Suga,” the sheriff interrupted suddenly. “Why are you only up at night?” It had been on his mind, especially as his last days of night patrol were closing in. Was the man really as chained to the darkness as he claimed? He wouldn’t be able to… make an exception? 

A delicate snort escaped the other man. “I told you, though: the sun doesn’t agree with me. I mean, look at this,” he lamented as he hiked up the sleeves of his shirt. “I’m pale as a ghost. I burn to a crisp if I stay in it.” He shook his head, silver hair fluttering, and offered a sad smile to Daichi. “It’s just…some of us weren’t made for the light of day. It’s alright, though. The night is beautiful, don’t you think?”

With a glance upward to the stars, Daichi said,”It can be, but it’s more dangerous than beautiful. That’s why I have a job.”

“Hm. Beauty and danger aren't mutually exclusive,” Suga informed. He wore a sly smile as he spoke, and his brown eyes sparkled with mischief. 

This was a challenge, Daichi realized, albeit a small one. Suga seemed to thrive on these little contests, because they’d had several in the past two weeks. “Name five things that are both,” Daichi said. 

The witch clapped his hands gleefully, looking eager for the chance to show off. “Let’s see. Should we start with roses with their thorns?” 

“Hardly what I would call dangerous,” Daichi replied. 

“You didn’t specify _how_ dangerous something had to be.” 

“Oh, fine. Roses then.” 

Suga took his little victory with a smile. “Then, poison hemlock. It has pretty little flowers, doesn’t it?”

A little shiver went down Daichi’s spine at the reminder that Suga was more than he appeared. “I… wouldn’t call them that beautiful,” he argued. “The flowers are a little plain. Especially compared to roses.”

The witch rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “You’re difficult to please today, Sheriff! Surely, then you could agree to wolves. No one would disagree to that. And… mountain laurel?”

Daichi considered and gave a short nod of approval. “You’ve still got one more.”

“That’s easy,” he laughed with an arched brow. “Me.”

He should’ve seen it coming, but a wave of want blindsided him, coursed through his chest and pooled in his gut. _Yes,_ Daichi thought. _Yes, very._ He swallowed, like it would help him gain composure but all it did was draw Suga’s eyes to his lips which did little to alleviate the sudden consuming need. “Well,” Daichi started, though he trailed off into silence. 

“You disagree?” Suga asked. 

“Maybe I can only speak with certainty to one of the categories.” 

Rimmed by silver lashes, his eyes looked dangerously bright as he pressed, “And which one would that be?” Suga looked like he was trying to maintain his nonchalant air, but the intensity of his eyes betrayed him, and for once, Daichi had the upper hand.

“Considering I can only validate one claim, I think that means you lose this challenge for now,” he informed, ignoring the question. His heart jumped when Suga narrowed his eyes; maybe he’d receive a demonstration of how dangerous a witch could be for that one. But the witch in question merely conceded his loss with a haughty shake of his head and an indignant huff. Neither move did anything to conceal, even in lantern light, the blush which had bloomed on his fair cheeks. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“It’s my turn on day patrol,” Daichi advised, surprised at the regret that tinged his voice. “The day after tomorrow.” 

Sitting against the town’s gate beside him, Suga paused in his task of packing the basket he’d brought with baked bread. He’d claimed it an accident that he’d made too much, but Daichi thought the witch seemed a little too attentive to his reaction for it not to have been purposeful. “I suppose that’s to be expected,” the man conceded as he brushed aside ashen bangs which had fallen out of place. “How long has it been since you’ve seen the sun? Eight weeks now?” 

Eight weeks of darkness and just as many of Suga. “I see the sun every morning,” Daichi retorted. Suga punched him in the arm. 

“You know what I mean,” he pressed. “Real sun, warm-on-the-skin sun.” With a little more hesitation than he might’ve shown a few weeks ago, the witch reached a long finger up, traced it along Daichi’s cheek and teased, “You’re losing your summer glow.” 

Daichi hadn’t yet grown accustomed to the fleeting touches they sometimes shared. His eyes fluttered shut, involuntarily, and he savored the feeling. “If you say so,” he murmured. “I guess I won’t see you until my next time around. Usually it’s six weeks.” 

“Ah, right. Whatever shall you do without me?” 

Daichi frowned. “I… guess it’s usually busier during the day. So I’ll actually have to… talk to people.” He wrinkled his nose as well. 

Suga snorted, stood and stretched. A false dawn on the horizon illuminated the sliver of pale skin at his stomach, bared with the motion. Daichi didn’t tear his eyes away until a hand entered his vision. “No need to frown,” Suga said with a reassuring smile. “If you find that you can’t sleep, you know where to find me. And I certainly know where to find you.” 

Their palms slid together and Suga pulled Daichi to his feet with a strength that always surprised him. If his hand lingered too long before they separated, Suga didn’t seem to mind. 

  
  
  
  


It wasn’t until he laid down that he realized Suga had said he knew where to find him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The sunlight Daichi had craved weeks ago seemed harsher than he remembered. It wasn’t only because they were in the height of summer and the afternoon sun was truly scorching. Or that he spent all day sweating and sometimes left the bath sweating too. Or even that he suddenly bore a smattering of freckles on his arms from being in the sun most of the day dealing with people. 

If he was honest with himself, it was because he missed Suga. 

Daichi tuned out the rambling of the nosy shopkeeper who'd asked him to stop by- she always tried to convince him to court her daughter- and he reflected. Suga’s presence throughout the night had become invaluable to fighting the monotony, but even if the daylight offered more to do, Daichi would’ve preferred to be in Suga’s company. If the ruthless sun was going to reveal all the things he’d tried to hide in the cover of darkness, then there was little use in denying any longer: It was attraction. He didn’t just want Suga’s company: he _wanted_ him. It had taken him by surprise the other day, the intensity of his desire, but that’s exactly what it was. Something about Suga made him _crave_ more. Spirits above and below, it wasn’t even magic; the man was just that magnetic.

He realized the old woman had come to a pause and was staring at him expectantly. “No thanks,” he said and stalked off without seeing if that had been the right answer or not. 

When the evening came, he met his older partner and made him follow into their little office and jailhouse. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” he whispered once they were inside. “About Su… the witch.”

The other sheriff crossed his arms and explained, “Even after you’ve been here a year I don’t know a thing about you, Daichi. You think I was going to risk it by telling you?”

“I… understand that,” Daichi admitted with a bowed head. “And I’m not going to say anything, I swear. I just… is he dangerous?” 

“Probably,” the other man snorted. “About as dangerous as any of us.” The expression on Daichi’s face must have displayed clearly his dissatisfaction with that answer because the sheriff sighed and added,” Look, I take it you didn’t ever follow the Old Ways, but I grew up that way, even after it got outlawed. All this witch-hunting stuff is new nonsense. Here’s what you need to know: you don’t fuck with a witch, show ‘em respect no matter what, and everyone is happy. Most of ‘em just want to help people, same as you and me. They just have a different set of skills.” His mouth quirked up in a grin. “So can he be dangerous? Yeah, probably. But he hasn't done anything but help this town, so that's good enough for me.” 

Daichi felt his shoulders droop as the tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding dissipated. A week after meeting Suga, he might’ve argued, but now he felt relieved. “Thanks,” he sighed. “That makes a lot of sense.” Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Did you tell him where I live?”

His partner looked at him like he was crazy. “‘Course not. But if I knew someone was potentially going to be a threat to me, I’d stalk him down too.” He tipped his hat as he strode out the door. “Remember: don’t fuck with a witch.” 

Mulling over that parting wisdom, Daichi made his way to the tavern, nursed a few beers and wandered home. It was strange to be out in the dark without Suga with him, so familiar had he become. Bleary-eyed as he was, he didn’t see the parchment slipped into his door frame until it fluttered to the floor. His confusion became excitement as he took in the thin, elegant handwriting he knew belonged to Suga. 

_Dear Sheriff:_

_I do hope you’re enjoying your time in the sun, even if I’m sure you are missing me terribly. Fret not, I’ve provided you a small token by which you can think of me. Do you recall our challenge from several weeks ago? Five things that are both beautiful and dangerous? Well, you know I strive ever to be right and enjoy it so, and if I may brag, you’ll recall that I haven’t lost before or since. It’s eating at me. As such, here is a piece of something from my garden which I believe you will find fits both the categories you outlined. Thus, I have given five examples and can claim victory- should you approve._

_Yours,_

_S_

There was a second sheet and he nearly fumbled it once unfolded. Carefully attached to the parchment was a dried nightshade flower. It was surrounded by handwritten notes, which listed its common names, used both deadly and not, along with side effects listed from the mildest to death. It was actually fascinating and, as Suga promised, a beautiful flower. If Suga hadn’t already unknowingly won the challenge, that would’ve cinched the victory. He chewed at his lip while he read and read and read the letter again. 

_What in all the hells is wrong with me?_ Daichi mused when he realized he was tracing the outline of the plant with a bared finger. Was he so desperate for something that he’d consider the risk? Suga could be deadly, _was_ dangerous, and instead of turning away which would have been sensible, it had the opposite effect entirely. Daichi was chasing it like he’d been trapped in a wasteland and Suga was water. It didn't matter that the water came at the risk of being poison. _You’re insane_ , he thought as he scavenged his home for paper. The thought came again when he dredged up an inkwell too, but was more readily discarded once he began to write. 

_Dear S,_

_Why am I not surprised at all that you have this in your garden? Since you complain regularly about my being all about business, I shall get to it and save you the breath- or ink. The nightshade flower is an excellent example. You win. You’ve also over-achieved, as I believe the fact that you grow this proves your previous fifth answer correct, bringing you to six._

_D_ ~~_ai_ ~~

Ah, hells. He started to sign his name. As if he hadn’t agonized over the whole letter to begin with. He blotted out what he could, ending it with just ‘D.’ He looked it over carefully, or as carefully as someone who needed sleep and was three beers in could be. After a second thought, he added:

_P.S. I think I do miss you._

Well, there was no blotting something of that length. Daichi aired the letter and folded it. Then with a quick look around his doorstep, he wedged it into the door frame and locked it in place. _This is real, right?_ Secret letters on his darkened doorstep? One glance at the nightshade on his table sent his heart pounding in a very real way. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Dearest Sheriff, or rather, D,_

_First of all, I feel I must chastise you for such a careless slip. Haven’t you heard what a witch can do with a name? Be more careful! That said, I will guard that singular letter D with my life._

_I appreciate your efforts at saving my ink, but you must know by now that I like to hear myself talk, and the same applies to writing. I accept my delayed victory with a triumphant smile, which you can surely imagine, so many times have I worn it. I would draw you a likeness in case you’ve forgotten, but I’m afraid I cannot add ‘artist’ to my amazing and vast array of skills._

~~_However, my ‘over-achieved’ victory begs me to ask: do you_ ~~

_You know, I’ve never had such trouble writing. It took me so long to start that question but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I suppose I would be tongue-tied if we were in person. I think it’s your honesty. It's a rare quality against which I have no defense. I like it._

_Yours,_

_K_

_(I don’t want my face on posters “between here and the capital” after all)_

A few days after his response had disappeared, the letter was waiting for Daichi when he woke up for his patrol. He read it until he had to leave, and it burned in his pocket all day. The second he had a moment of privacy, he had it in hand again. ‘K,’ he’d written. Reading that renewed the hot, shaky feeling in his body. He needed more than ‘K.’ He needed the name and everything that came with it. Daichi knew the stories, that with a name, someone with even an ounce of magic could bend you to their will. He doubted Suga knew that he already had that power over him. The man had Daichi scrambling around the marketplace to buy more parchment when he hadn’t written anything in ages. More than that, thoughts of him consumed Daichi’s waking moments- and occasionally his dreams. If that wasn’t power, he didn’t know what was. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Dear K,_

_Now I wonder what K stands for, but I understand your caution. I’ve been told, in summary, that I’m not easy to get to know, which has undoubtedly contributed to said caution._

_I think writing gives me a little more courage to be honest and open. So, yes, I can easily imagine your smile, but it is much better in person. I cannot imagine you at a loss for words, though._

_Yours,_

_D_

Oh, how his hand trembled as he wrote that letter, especially signing it ‘yours.’ It echoed Suga’s own, but such a thing seemed to fit his vibrant personality. To Daichi it felt foreign, a little intimate. He’d never been close enough to anyone in his twenty-two years to consider saying such a thing. If he thought about it, did he really know Suga? They weren’t even on a first-name level of trust. 

_No_ , he decided after a moment. It wasn’t about knowing his name: he knew Suga like baking bread and eating spicy food; that even if he hadn’t been born with the gift of magic he would’ve learned herbal medicine; that he liked kids but would never have them; and that there was more to trust than a name. 

_P.S. I want you to know me._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Daichi woke to a soft knock on his door. A knock wasn’t entirely unusual; he was a sheriff after all. A knock so soft barely roused him, though, felt like a dream as he stumbled to the door to find Suga on the other side.

"Sorry to bother you," the witch whispered with a nervous glance over his shoulder.

"It's fine. Come in," Daichi mumbled. The words hadn’t even left his mouth before the witch ushered him inside and bade him to be quiet. Faint light fell in lines through the shuttered windows, giving Daichi’s adjusting eyes enough to see Suga cross the room with silent steps and peer outside. “Am I dreaming?” Daichi whispered when, after a few tense and silent minutes, the other man slumped against the wall. 

“Is this what you dream about?” Suga teased, though his voice sounded a little thin. Whispering did not suit the robust man at all. “Wait, don’t light the lamp.”

“What’s going on?” Daichi mumbled as he paused in his short-lived quest towards the lamp and matches. It was a good thing he had so few furnishings, or he surely would have tripped on his half blind search. 

“I’m… sorry,” Suga started as he cast another nervous glance out the window. No, not nervous: scared. “There was a small group of witch-hunters a little too close to my house for comfort. Other people I can… _convince_ to leave, but I can’t risk it with them. I don’t think they saw me, but I...” He dropped his head into his hands, clasping fistfuls of hair as he groaned, “I shouldn’t have come here! I just- I got scared. I got really scared.” 

Daichi worked his way across the room until he was close enough to wrap his tentative hands around Suga’s. He gently pried at his fingers. “It’s fine,” he murmured as he worked, until both the witch’s trembling hands were in his. “No one would think to find you here.” 

Suga squeezed shut his eyes. “It’s not fine,” he whimpered. “It’s selfish. I’m putting you and, and even the rest of the town in danger just by being here.” Tears began to seep between his lashes roll down his cheeks. “I don’t understand! Why now? Why can’t they just-!” 

“Suga,” Daichi murmured. “I’m telling you it’s fine. No one even knows you’re here. They don’t know you’re here.” Slowly, not wishing to make him feel more caged than he did, Daichi released Suga’s hands, slid his own over the man’s shoulders, down his back, and pulled him into his bare chest. There was a moment where he worried he’d gone too far, when Suga tensed against him like an animal caught in a trap. Then in a swift motion he’d wrapped his arms around Daichi in return and clung tightly as he began to cry in earnest. “It’s alright,” Daichi whispered, nuzzling his cheek into soft, silver hair. Once Suga’s sobbing had dwindled into sniffling, Daichi offered, “Stay here. At least a few hours. Just to be safe.” 

“But-” 

“Please.” They disentangled far enough for Daichi to send the other man a reassuring smile with his plea. Someone like Suga always appeared larger than life, and it was unsettling to see him looking so small. Daichi thought before, when smiles came easy, that he would do anything to ensure they remained. It wasn’t that he didn’t still, but it was infinitely more personal to see someone cry, to be the person they came to in a moment of vulnerability. His throat grew tight and he was forced to drop his own gaze before he, too, succumbed to tears. “Stay with me,” he breathed. 

He heard the hitch in Suga’s breath, and took him by the hand once he’d nodded his assent. With care he sat the witch on his bed before padding back to retrieve a chair. “You can rest for a while,” the sheriff indicated. “I’ll watch out.” 

He might’ve expected pushback from someone as stubborn as Suga. “You need sleep,” the other man protested as he stood. “I’ll be fine to sit up.” 

“I don’t want to fall asleep and leave you by yourself. Not after this,” Daichi insisted. He pushed very gently against Suga’s shoulders, but he was as unwavering as Daichi. 

For a moment they stood at an impasse. Then without any of his characteristic charms or grins and bearing only wide, honest eyes, Suga asked, “Together?”

The question did a thousand things to Daichi all at once: he caught fire with eagerness and wanted to scream ‘yes’ for all the reasons he knew he should say ‘I shouldn’t.’ _No,_ _I can do this,_ he said to bolster himself. How selfish could he be to think of anything other than the simple comfort he was being asked to provide? Suga’s eyes were searching his for an answer, so he hurried out, “But…-” But what? Ah- “But if I lay down I’ll fall asleep.” 

Suga wasn’t interested in his excuses; he’d already toed off his boots. “Then talk to me so you don’t,” he pleaded. With more vigor than intending, Daichi rubbed his heated face before sliding wordlessly back into his sheets. He was doing it, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at anything but his hand fisted in his blanket as the bed dipped under the added weight. “Hey,” Suga whispered. “Is this really fine?” 

That voice so soft, so close, and so unattainable was almost torturous, but Daichi already discovered there was something twisted in him that enjoyed it. “Yes,” he replied as he rolled to meet Suga’s eyes. “It’s very fine.” 

A smile small, wry and more befitting the witch worked its way onto his lips. “Very good. I’m very pleased.”

“Please shut up.” 

Suga snorted, already amused with his joke. “Very well.”

Even with the sizable space between them, his breath was warm and a little minty as it drifted across Daichi’s cheek. “Don’t actually shut up,” he clarified. Another huff of laughter. 

“When do I ever?”

“True.” 

Suga shoved Daichi’s shoulder, but his fingers ghosted down his arm on their return to their side of the bed, leaving chills in their wave. “Suga,” Daichi began, but the expectant, half-lidded gaze that met him stole the words from his throat. He swallowed, eyes dropping to parted lips and- no, he definitely could not do this. He rolled to his back and exhaled. “You better talk before I fall asleep,” he croaked. 

Suga snickered softly, but obliged. Daichi did not remember falling asleep, the same way he did not remember being so bothered by an empty bed in the morning.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You look tired, Daichi,” his partner commented when they met to swap shifts. “You alright?” 

The younger man paused, brow furrowed, and cast a concerned look at his fellow sheriff. “Did you see any witch-hunters last night?”

His partner’s frown turned into a glare. “Not near the town. They’re close?”

“Maybe.” 

Solemn, the older man nodded, though it became a curious glance. “How would you-”

“Go get some rest.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


There were no new letters after that, during which time Daichi became increasingly worried. He’d left one note which was never picked up, then added another to it. When more than a week had passed, Daichi possessed a small stack of unread letters and an irritable disposition. By the end of the second week he found himself standing at the edge of the forest at dusk with the letters in hand. A few glances revealed that he was alone, and he tread carefully into the woods. 

It wasn’t as though there were any special rumors or warnings surrounding these particular woods, but Daichi was unsettled. Not unlike the first time he and Suga met, he got the distinct, prickly feeling that he was being watched. Being unsure about whether or not it was Suga contributed to the unease growing inside him. “Just have to find him,” he muttered to himself, hoping it would steel his nerves. If he could only determine that the witch was still alive then he would be satisfied, and if he wanted Daichi to leave after that, he would. With a determined set to his shoulders, the sheriff pressed on deeper into the trees. 

At least, he thought it was, until he stumbled out into a clearing that was actually just the eastern side of the town wall. He cast a confused glare over his shoulder, then rushed back in with purposeful strides. He’d only been walking ten minutes when he came to another clearing- except it was the south end of town this time. “You bastard,” he growled as he whipped back around and started to sprint. He only managed a minute before he tripped on a tree root that seemed suspiciously to come out of nowhere and fell on his face. Panting, he rolled onto his back and glared at the canopy above him. “Fuck you, too!” he shouted. 

“Go home, Sawamura.”

Daichi scrambled to his feet, all previous thoughts of leaving peacefully once he’d determined Suga’s life status gone from his head. “No!” he countered. “How could you do this to me? I thought you were dead!” 

Only feet away, Suga met his eyes with a penitent expression that Daichi thought did not suit him at all. “I thought that maybe it’d be easier that way,” the witch offered as explanation. 

“What would be easier that way?” Daichi growled hotly, but when the other man’s expression only looked more pained, he understood. “Are you planning on leaving?” he hissed. 

“It’s on the table,” Suga admitted. “I’m worried about what could happen to the town if I ever was… found. I think if I move on then everyone would be safer. You would be safer.” The witch took a labored breath as he gripped tightly at his hair and wavered, “So I thought I should cut off our contact so you could…” He stopped talking and dropped his gaze.

The admission was a punch to the gut. “So I could, what?” he begged. “Forget about you?” When Suga nodded, Daichi barked out a wry laugh, gravely from the tightness in his throat. “Suga, you damned idiot! That’s not going to happen. Whatever this is,” he said, motioning between them, “wouldn’t go away just because you disappear without a word! If anything I would just keep looking for you until I knew for sure-” The sheriff cut himself off with another short laugh and shake of his head. “Actually, that’s what I told myself coming here. That as long as I knew you were alive I would be happy.” Wide brown eyes met his, and even in the fading light he could see that they were aglow with unshed tears. “But it’s not enough to know you’re out there somewhere,” Daichi admitted. “Suga, I… I want-”

“D-don’t,” the witch pleaded shakily. “Don’t make it harder than it has to be.”

Daichi had to stop himself from barreling ahead. There was no way he’d been imagining the connection between them, but how far should he push before it was too far? He wanted Suga to understand why he was fighting him so hard, but if the other man didn’t want to hear it, did he have a right to try and make him? “Then tell me…” Daichi’s voice caught and he had to wipe an errant tear that had made its way down his cheek. “If you can tell me to my face that you don’t want this to continue, then I’ll leave it alone. And you can leave and I won’t look for you.” 

Bracing for the answer, the sheriff clenched his teeth and crossed his arms, but Suga doubled over with a soft sob, his own thin arms wrapped around himself. “I-I d-do,” he choked out. “I do want it, but I c-can’t-” 

Daichi was across the space in three steps, taking Suga by the arms. “Yes, you can,” he urged. “If it’s the danger, we can handle it! If you’re worried about the town then let’s go- together!”

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” the witch cried. “You don’t know what it’s like to never get to be a part of anything. To find somewhere you like and have to flee- Sawamura, I wouldn’t ask that of anyone! It was selfish for me to even let it go this far. I mean, I didn’t think it would, but I did it anyway. I’m the worst-”

“I’m capable of making my own choices,” the sheriff snapped. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me without even asking!” Suga fell silent, save for the sound of his sniffling, but he didn’t tell Daichi to let him go, either. With a heavy sigh, Daichi let his hands fall away, the now-wrinkled pages of letters in his fist rustling as he did. The sound drew Suga’s watery gaze and the sheriff pressed them against the witch’s chest. “I have one more,” he stated, thinking quickly. “Please, don’t leave until you've read it? And after you do, if you still don’t think you can do it, then cut me out again.”

“Alright,” Suga croaked, clutching the stack of paper to his chest. Daichi offered him a brave smile that did not reflect how he felt inside. Then he turned and walked, and as he expected, he was out of the forest in minutes. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Dear K,_

_I hope everything was fine when you went home. You know, you can always come here if you need to. Or want to. We’ve been watching for news about more hunters and haven’t heard anything. I think we’re far enough from the big cities that they really only come this far for show._  
  
  


_Dear K,_

_Please just leave me some kind of clue that you’re alright? It’s too quiet without you. Which is odd because we’re writing letters right now. But I can read them in your voice and it makes me feel less lonely._

_I guess that sounds a little selfish. I just thought that maybe you trusted me more after what happened the other night. You know that I’ll help protect you, right?_  
  
  


_Stupid K,_

_Does this greeting tell you how I feel about your silence?_

  
  


_Dear K,_

_I’m not sorry I called you stupid. Because that’s what this is. If you are alive, then you have to know that this is making me crazy._

_When you came to me, part of me was glad, because it was_ **_me_ ** _. You’re funny, clever, charming and kind and I don’t know sometimes why you even talk to someone like me. So when you entrusted me in that moment, I thought…I don’t know what I thought._

_Well, that’s not true, I’m just too afraid to write it._

_If you’re alive, then just let me know. Please_

_D_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Daichi slept fitfully that night and was distracted all day as he thought about what he would write. It wasn’t without a healthy dose of self-blame, too. If he’d said these things in person last night, perhaps it would’ve made a difference. Now he would have no control over what Suga did with his confession… which was something he would have to accept one way or the other, he realized. Forcing the other man to decide anything under pressure wasn’t fair, and if he did, then Daichi would always be wondering if it was what Suga really wanted. No, all he could do was lay everything out and hope for the best. 

As soon as he had swapped work with his partner, Daichi made straight for his house. The paper and ink were scarcely on his table before he began to write. All day he’d been ruminating, so the thoughts came easily to the page, though that did little to ease the shakiness of his hand. When he’d filled the page, Daichi did not reread it. There was nothing more to add. If this did not convince Suga to take the chance, there was nothing more to be done, because, ineloquent and unpolished as it was, that letter was all he had. All his energy left him as soon as he’d locked himself in with the letter jutting from his doorway. He managed to drag himself to bed with a short wish that, in the morning, his fears wouldn’t have come true. 

_Dearest K,_

_If there was anything that would convince you to stay, I thought maybe this would be it. You did say you liked my honesty. So even though it isn’t in person, here it is._

_I want you._

_I want everything about you. I want to know all the things that make you laugh and cry. I want to be one of the things that makes you happy. I want to talk until we fall asleep again and I want to wake up and you’re still there. I want all the danger that comes with being with you because I can handle it._

_I want to hold you and kiss you and actually tell you that I think you’re beautiful. Because I was too afraid to say or do anything before._

_Even if you go, I want to go with you. There’s nothing here that would be worth losing you over. I’m in love with you. All I can do is tell you this and hope that you feel the same way. So if you do, then let me be with you._

_Yours,_

_D_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When he woke, just before sunrise, Daichi did not want to get out of bed. If he did then he would be made to confront one of two futures awaiting him on the other side: one with Suga, and one without. But Daichi was resolute if nothing else. He mechanically dressed and washed, though he couldn’t force himself to eat. The front door seemed a thousand steps away but he reached it anyway and observed the new corner of paper poking in from outside. 

Daichi took the note after a moment of hesitation. After what he’d written, he was scared. Terrified, even. With a shaky breath, he unfolded it. 

There was no droll foreword or lengthy ramble. It was one sentence, but he had to brace himself against the doorframe. 

_Meet me tonight._

A dry laugh escaped him as the letter crinkled in his fist. He was conscious of his blood, ringing through his ears and coursing through his pounding heart. It was such a perfectly Suga answer, filling him with want but not without risk, because there was no question as to where. The woods, the darkness and the danger that accompanied it, but with Suga at its heart. A yes without a yes. Daichi shook his head and laughed helplessly at himself while he refolded the note. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He didn’t recall falling asleep after he bathed, intending only to rest for a moment after his day, but Daichi jolted upright when he took in the dark cast to his room. He didn’t remember redressing, or leaving home, but found himself dazed at the forest’s edge, Suga’s letter clutched in one hand and a flickering lantern in the other. His breath came fast like he’d be running; had he even checked to see if anyone had seen him? A wild laugh burst from some unknown place inside him. And he took a step into the darkness. 

His path was unhindered. When Daichi looked back it was as he expected, an irregular smattering of nature, but the trail ahead was clear and straight. He must be dreaming still, he thought, as he strode along his predetermined course. Because if he wasn’t dreaming, it meant he was crazy for having no reservations. Only the rustling leaves offered an opinion on the matter. It was impossible to tell how long he walked- it could have been minutes or days- but finally the trees thinned, opening to a wide clearing. A lake of stars shimmered before him like a fallen piece of night sky crowned with gauzy fog. There was a picturesque stone cottage tucked away at the far end, barely visible in the darkness. It stole his breath, so much so, that Daichi almost missed the black outline of a figure sitting on the wooden dock. Did he walk to him or had he blinked himself there, because he only knew he was setting down his lantern, shucking his boots and dipping his feet into the water beside the person he had come to meet. 

Suga turned his head to regard him with a quiet smile on his lips. He was beautiful even with red rimmed eyes that hinted at earlier tears. A delicate white shirt hung from his thin frame, pooled around his hips where it blended into the misty breeze. Wet trousers accentuated his calves where they hugged his skin, and his bare feet caught the light below the starry waterline. Tentatively, Daichi placed a hand on Suga’s knee and breathed, “I’m not dreaming, right?”

“You seem to have trouble with differentiating reality and dreams,” Suga teased, his voice low. “Which would you prefer? Because I could make it either.”

Daichi shuddered when the question was accompanied by fingers ghosting along his jaw. He met Suga’s eyes which glinted, hungry and waiting, from behind silver lashes. “You know what I want. I want it to be real,” he answered. 

Suga bit back a smile like it was all that was keeping him from devouring Daichi on the spot. “Then you’re not dreaming,” he whispered before he leaned across the space between them and pressed his lips to Daichi’s. He was soft and electric both, a fire that coursed straight from the kiss and into Daichi’s chest. It forced him to catch his breath, then he was kissing back, one hand hopelessly lost in silver hair and the other holding Suga at the waist. In moments he had caged Suga against the dock- no, the delicate fingers clenched in the front of his shirt said the witch had pulled him there. Every second that their lips parted was another that they reconnected, building each time in intensity until Daichi was dizzy and breathless, grounded only by the fiery trails Suga’s hands carved down his back. Then the witch was pulling on his hips, low enough that Daichi groaned at the sudden contact with the man below him. Panting, he drew himself up, taking in the messy splay of silver hair around Suga’s flushed face. 

“Are you scared?” Suga asked, grin coy, and Daichi glanced aside, unwilling to answer because he didn’t know how, yet. Beneath him, Suga blinked in surprise, then pushed himself back up. “You were right,” the witch said softly, placing one of his hands over Daichi’s. “I can’t decide for you. And the opposite is true, too.” Suga inhaled, held it, then exhaled in a giant breath. Then he leaned in to place a chaste kiss at the corner of Daichi’s mouth. “To be honest, I want to be with you, and all this happened because I was scared, too. I don’t want to hold back anymore.”

Daichi raised a trembling hand to cup Suga’s cheek. “I don’t want to wake up and this was all a dream,” he confessed in turn. “That’s what I was afraid of. Say it again, that you want me.”

Suga leaned into Daichi’s palm trying hard not to smile before he took it in his and entwined their fingers. “Koushi Sugawara,” he said. 

“What?”

“That’s my name,” he confided. His brown eyes met Daichi’s which were wide with surprise. “And I want you to stay.” 

Daichi’s hands were on him again, tugging the witch into his lap so they were locked together at every point as he kissed him. He’d thought that what happened moments ago had been intense, but it paled against the ferocity with which Suga- no, _Koushi_ \- came at him now. The sheriff met him just as greedily, letting his hands explore the planes of his chest and creep under the gauzy shirt. In the light of the moon Koushi was resplendent, made for it or made of it Daichi couldn’t even tell, but he reveled in the smooth, pale skin beneath his hands. He took in the wiry muscle of his shoulders and caressed the ridge of his spine until, after a moment’s pause, Daichi slid his hands around his backside. Koushi let out a muffled noise against his lips before he broke away to level Daichi with a dark, hungry gaze. Wearing a soft silver halo and a mantle of stars, Koushi had never looked so otherworldly, even as he slotted himself sinfully against Daichi’s hips. 

Daichi groaned, his response swallowed as the other man’s lips caught his again and they found a new rhythm. Koushi’s hands danced across his body as he moved: digging into the muscle of his shoulders, rucking up his shirt, splaying against his taut chest. Daichi had never been so achingly hard in his life, and the way in which Suga was grinding against him was making his breath come short and fast. Ever observant Suga trailed a line of kisses down the sheriff’s jaw until he was sucking at the sensitive skin of his neck. “Can I touch you?” he asked, voice husky with need. No sooner had Daichi managed a nod did he find himself on his back, Suga’s hand working open the button on his pants, and he arched with a gasp as the other man’s slim fingers encircled him. 

Daichi grasped blindly at what he could, hands finding purchase at the back of Koushi’s neck and around the arm that supported his weight. It was all Daichi could do to grip tightly to the other man as he worked at him with measured strokes. If he weren’t already as bared as he was, Daichi might’ve blushed at the fervent way Koushi looked at him, hooded eyes sliding between Daichi’s face, body, and his own hand. Koushi bent a little lower, whispered something that didn’t register with Daichi at first. “Your name,” he breathed again, tearing his eyes from where he paused in his ministrations. 

“D-Daichi,” he gasped. The witch mouthed his name like it was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted, then used his free hand to bring Daichi into another kiss as he continued, picking up his pace. He slipped his tongue into Daichi’s panting mouth and across his bottom lip, eventually returning to his neck. All the fire that had built and built pooled in his gut and Daichi’s nails dug crescents into Koushi’s thighs in a desperate bid to keep grounded as he crept closer to the edge. Koushi must have sensed the shift: he licked a stripe up Daichi’s neck to his ear, his breath hot against the sensitive skin as he moaned, “I want you to finish for me, Daichi.” 

The racy order dragged a cry from him as he did as he was told; the orgasm ripped through him, white-hot and blinding. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, still acutely aware that Suga’s hand was still on him, pace slow and lazy once again before he stopped. The sheriff was vaguely aware that the witch was whispering something in another language in his ear and lifted his adoring eyes to meet his. “K-Koushi,” he stuttered. He felt drunk, tongue tied as he gazed into the amused face in front of him. “I want more,” he blurted.

The witch gave him an approving grin and murmured, “Good,” as, with one more slow roll of his hips, he insinuated his obvious arousal against Daichi’s leg. The sheriff sucked his lip between his teeth and moved to kiss him again, but the witch pulled just out of range. “Come with me to the house and maybe you’ll get more,” he practically sang. 

There were no objections and no words as the two strode, hands clasped, past the lake. Up close, the cottage was exactly what Daichi would have expected of Suga. Stone overlaid in flowering vines, a sprawling garden. They’d scarcely made it inside the darkened house before the witch had him against the door in a fervid kiss. It took only moments before he yanked Daichi’s shirt over his head and threw it to the floor, his own following right after. “Light,” Daichi growled, the only thing of which he was capable since the other man had begun biting kisses down his neck and chest. Koushi mumbled something incomprehensible but swung his arm with a resounding snap of his fingers. The cottage warmed as the hearth and dozens of candles crackled into life. 

The sheriff could admit his motives had been wholly self-serving. Gripping Koushi’s chin, he pushed his convincing mouth away from his neck and set about to memorize every inch of the other man’s body in the soft firelight. It changed the fire inside him, desire joined by quiet reverence as his fingers traced the lines of his neck, his collarbones, his stomach. For every place his hands paused, he left deliberate kisses, until eventually he was kneeling, his lips marking where Koushi’s hips disappeared into his waistband. Daichi spared a glance up at the man before him, who met his gaze looking fevered with want, eyes glassy and skin flushed. Without waiting for a directive, the sheriff unbuttoned his pants and let them puddle to the floor. 

“Ah, you don’t-” Koushi started, but whatever weak objections he’d been planning were lost in a whimper as Daichi continued his reverent exploration with a kiss at the junction of his thighs. With steady hands Daichi braced him before his knees buckled, then continued with another teasing kiss around his inner thighs, maddeningly and purposefully ignorant. 

“But you want it, don’t you?” Daichi tempted with another glance up through his lashes and the most innocent expression he could muster. He could feel the tremble in Koushi’s legs where he traced circles around his hip bones. 

“Y-yes,” the witch panted, a desperate look painted on his face. “If you-” and the rest was a choked moan as Daichi took the length of him in his mouth. The uninhibited noises falling from the other man’s lips were enough direction for the sheriff, who was acting solely on instinct now. He let his hands flow along velvety legs, eventually settling one at Koushi’s hips while the other cupped the rest of him. Daichi hadn’t thought further ahead than this, but then, everything about their relationship had been impulsive, and the sense that he could be overwhelmed by this man in the span of a word only served to draw him in more. 

Beneath his hands and tongue, Suga had tensed, slim fingers fisted in Daichi’s short, brown hair. “I-I’m- you should-” the witch gasped out, earning as much of a smirk from the occupied man as he could manage. 

“S’fine,” Daichi huffed quickly before he resumed, faster, more confident. In moments, Koushi was crying his name as he went over the edge, spilling into his mouth as he shook and struggled to stay upright on trembling legs. Daichi sputtered and swallowed, reaching to grip Koushi by the waist in a controlled fall to his knees. The witch cradled Daichi’s face in his hands, finally meeting his eyes despite the furious blush that stained his cheeks and which seemed to grow as he rubbed away a lingering rivulet of wetness on Daichi’s chin. “You’re crazy,” he whispered, but a goofy, lopsided grin settled on his face in the afterglow. 

“I wonder why,” Daichi replied as he nuzzled Suga’s palm. He let his gaze drift boldly across the mess he’d made of the other man: the unruly ashen hair; pale skin pink and marked in spots from his neck to his hips; bare legs still splayed across the floor with trousers still bunched around his ankles. Daichi’s own body gave an answering twitch at the sight. “Couldn’t have anything to do with you, I’m sure.” He leaned in with the intent of stealing a kiss but met with Koushi’s open hand against his face. 

“Are you planning to have me on the floor?” the witch drawled with a cocked eyebrow. “I have a bed, you know.” Daichi could feel his face grow warm but it was just as much embarrassment as it was arousal at the suggestion. Swallowing his reply, he quickly caught Koushi’s lips with his, then staggered to his feet with a groan. He gave his knees a quick rub before he took the witch’s hands and pulled him to his feet as well. To Daichi’s pleasant surprise, the willowy man left behind his pants as he led him by the hand through the house. “I was going to offer the bedroom before, to spare you,” he informed Daichi in an airy tone as the sheriff limped his first few steps, “but someone was impatient.” 

Too entranced by the roll and sway of slender hips in front of him, Daichi was slow to retort, but finally replied, “You didn’t seem to mind.” 

Koushi tossed a knowing grin behind him, then ushered Daichi into a cozy little room behind a patterned curtain. Most of the room was occupied by the large plush bed laden with blankets and pillows, but what caught his eyes were the shelves of books that lined one of the walls as high as the ceiling. Even with the promise of more lingering in the back of his mind, Daichi paused to run a gentle hand along the spines. “I’ve never seen so many books, ever,” he admitted. 

Koushi came up behind him and wound his arms around Daichi’s waist. “You’re welcome to it anytime,” he murmured in his ear. “If you’re interested. Most of them are about plants, medicine, the body. Those sorts of things.” It struck Daichi that, even after the privilege of touching his body, these parts of him he was sharing were what really represented Koushi. He turned his head and kissed whatever he came in contact with first- the tip of Suga’s nose, then. The witch chuckled, low and sweet, tightening his grip on Daichi and pressing him close. “No regrets yet?” he questioned. 

“Of course not.” 

“Good,” Koushi affirmed before he placed a questioning kiss to the nape of his neck, tentative and gauging. Daichi shivered and didn’t fight the compulsion to back into Koushi’s naked hips. The elegant hands wrapped around him clawed gently at his chest while he nibbled at the back of Daichi’s neck. Then with practiced ease his hands worked open the sheriff’s pants and, oh, the feel of Koushi, already growing hard again, flush to his backside elicited a quiet moan from Daichi. He laced his fingers over Koushi’s, the ones which were bearing down on his stomach to pull him closer. “Have you done this before?” The question floated hot over Daichi’s ear which Koushi had been teasing with gentle bites. 

Daichi was a little grateful that Suga had been kissing the back of his neck red, because he could feel it grow warm along with his face and ears. “No, but,” he paused to lick his lips and swallow, “I know how it works. How hard can it be?”

The witch snorted into his shoulder, his arms growing lax around him. “I guess you’re lucky you have me. It takes time and practice, both of which I’ve had,” Suga teased as he coaxed Daichi to face him. His eyes seemed to flicker in the candlelight as he gave Daichi a sultry smile. “So follow my lead and do as I say, Daichi.” 

Suga’s voice, dark and alluring, siphoned the air from his lungs with its commanding tone and still Daichi nodded his eager assent. He followed the witch to his bed, thoughts stalling when the other man laid himself on his back and gestured him closer. Then he closed a fist in the air and twisted it, opening his hand to reveal a glass vial which he handed over to Daichi. “T-take this and put it on your fingers,” he said. A flicker of nervousness passed his features and he added, “Generously.” 

Daichi fumbled the vial with new understanding. Was it possible for his face to be any hotter? “Suga, I could handle it,” he objected. “You don’t have to… I don’t want to hurt-”

“Oh, hush,” the witch interjected with a lazy wave of his hand. “You won’t. I promise.” He raised one thick brow and suggested, grinning, “I can do this part by myself while you watch, if you want.” 

“O-oh my g- No! I want to!” Daichi exclaimed before he hastily popped the vial open to prove his point. It would have been impossible not to have heard the pounding of his heart from across the room, let alone as he hovered anxiously above Koushi just inches away. But the witch took his hand, placed a reassuring kiss carefully on his wrist and whispered, “I trust you,” before guiding his hand to his entrance. With trembling hands, Daichi followed his unspoken orders, slowly inserting a finger inside him. 

Daichi drank in the sight of Koushi as he unwound beneath him. The tension melted from his shoulders and he tossed his head back onto the pillows with a quiet moan as Daichi methodically worked him open. Those few months ago, he would not have imagined that he would be privy to something so intimate; Daichi knew he would never tire of Koushi coming undone at the urging of his hands. He nipped hungrily at the man’s chest as he writhed, kissed the insides of his knees as Koushi drew them up for leverage, until his sense of time was gone. Then the witch seized his wrist in a vice like grip and drew Daichi’s gaze to his own. Bottom lip caught provocatively between his teeth and eyes clouded with desire, Koushi gave him a burning once-over and growled, “I want you inside me.” 

With a low moan of his own Daichi assented, surging into Koushi with a passionate kiss only to find himself on his back with the other man coiled on top of him kissing back. He could have displaced the lighter man when his thin hands pinned Daichi's wrists to the bed, but the prospect of being trapped was almost too good. The moment was fleeting, too, because in the next, Koushi had the slick length of him in hand and insinuated at his entrance. Daichi forgot how to breathe as, back arched, eyes shuttered and Daichi’s name on his lips, Koushi steadily lowered himself until he was seated against Daichi’s hips. 

All that Daichi could manage was Koushi’s name as he was consumed by the heat that surrounded him. Koushi was curled over him with eyes unfocused, lips parted in a silent prayer, until Daichi’s fingers wound in silver strands and pulled him into a messy kiss. He couldn’t defy his need for long, though, and rolled his hips up, the move earning from his partner both an unfiltered moan and his refocused gaze, eyes burning anew with lust. Legs trembling Suga rose and fell like the waves until their rhythms matched and, oh, there was no space for anything in Daichi’s eyes but him. In a clumsy effort Daichi wrapped a hand around the hard length of his partner, savored the whimpers and gasps that came in return. Koushi’s movements were fast becoming uncoordinated, and he fell forward, catching himself on his hands, their motion unbroken by Daichi’s hands gripping his hips, keeping the pace. But with the subtle change in position, Daichi was overcome by the pressure changing across the entire length, could feel his body hurtle to edge and all he could do was follow with an abrupt cry. Before the aftershocks had even finished pulsing through him, Koushi had taken himself in hand and joined him with a sharp gasp, spilling onto Daichi’s stomach and collapsing to the side, panting. 

For several minutes the only sound was their breathing. Daichi was certain he’d seen stars, the light off silver hair and etched forever on the backs of his eyes. When finally Daichi caught his breath he rolled to his side and draped an arm over Koushi and dragged him closer. He expected protests but the other man responded in kind, though he was careful to avoid the sticky, cooling mess on Daichi’s stomach. 

“No regrets?” The witch asked drowsily. 

Daichi caressed the curve of Koushi’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over the little mole by his eye. It was becoming one of his favorite features. “Of course not,” he answered softly. “I feel like I should be asking you that.” 

The witch propped himself up and planted a kiss on Daichi’s cheek. “I don’t now, but I will if we fall asleep like this,” he grinned. Daichi nodded, and Koushi staggered to his feet first, taking the blanket with them as he pointed the way to the tub. 

He didn’t really remember scrubbing himself clean, only that he was laying in plush blankets, clean and smelling of flowers and Koushi. The way their legs entwined as he combed fingers through the witch’s still damp hair felt like the most beautiful dream, and Daichi drew Koushi close, wondering if he would ever be close enough for satisfaction. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he knew it was to the soft, lilting cadence of Koushi’s voice. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The older sheriff rubbed his eyes, grateful for the dawn. He didn’t even feel that old, but damn was the night exhausting. He trudged his way to the entrance of town along the wall, when a cloaked figure caught his eyes. For a breath, he was worried, until the person turned to face him. “Ah, it’s you,” he muttered with a hand over his now-pounding heart. “What are you doing here?” 

The man flashed him a smile. “Saying goodbye,” he answered. 

“You’re leaving?” 

He dug for something in his pocket, then the silver-haired witch threw something that shimmered in the first rays of dawn as it arced across the space between them. The sheriff caught it, an iron badge shaped like a star, the name once etched on it scratched out, unreadable. 

“Not me,” the witch said with a cheerful grin, and then he stepped into the woods.

**Author's Note:**

> TL;DR for this one-shot:  
> “Don’t fuck with a witch.”  
> *instructions unclear: fucked a witch.* 
> 
> So was Dai a willing participant or is Suga just a really good actor? Is Suga even human? *eyebrow raise*


End file.
